


Simple Desire

by sendricamp



Category: Pitch Perfect
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-25
Updated: 2013-05-25
Packaged: 2017-12-12 22:56:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/817034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sendricamp/pseuds/sendricamp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>HS AU. Chloe Beale is the new kid who takes a heavy interest in the little alt girl that everyone else knows to ignore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Simple Desire

**Author's Note:**

> This is a collab effort between myself and Stacy [bealeavable on Tumblr] based on a 1x1 RP.

The time that Beca Mitchell had to work on homework through the first batch of assignments in her senior year of high school was severely limited. Her attention was always needed somewhere, whether it be taking care of Ash or helping to fix dinner or doing her chores, that it somehow left her with almost no time to work on homework, let alone her mixes. She knew it was a stressful life, but her own mistakes had led her there, and she couldn’t sit back and expect her father and Sheila to take all of the responsibility. Beca never thought that actually getting out of bed in the morning and going to school would be something that she would look forward to, but her corner of the library during breaks gave her the quiet she needed to focus.

 

It was nice, in the sense that the other students knew to leave her alone. It was common knowledge across the school that Beca Mitchell was the one person who didn’t want friends. Every day during free period, she would find her little corner of the world, put on her headphones, and listen to her newest mix for imperfections. Her first clue that something was out of the ordinary was the shocked looks from a few of the kids at the other table in the area, and the second was the smiling redhead that was suddenly sitting at the other side of the table. Slowly – cautiously – she pulled her headphones down around her neck. “Can I help you?” she asked, her voice quiet.

 

“I’m new. I mean, I’m Chloe, and I’m new here,” she said, stammering through the sentence. Beca couldn’t stop the twitch at the corner of her mouth, offering a smirk. “I’m also not always this awkward.” She tilted her head slightly to the left. “What’s your name?”

 

_Lock it up, Beca._ Chloe’s smile – Chloe’s everything, if Beca was being completely honest – made her want to throw her walls down, and she had spent too many years building them up for some redhead to come into her life, in her final year of high school, and destroy everything. “Beca,” she said, leaning back in her chair, “and I’m not really a people person.”

 

She watched as Chloe nodded, slowly, pursing her lips before settling into the chair. Hands ran through red hair, and Beca had to stop herself from reaching across the table to push a few loose strands behind one of Chloe’s ears. “Algebra?” she asked, her eyes darting to Beca’s notebook before rising again, filled with sympathy.

 

Rolling her eyes, Beca looked back down at the notebook, still feeling like it would be a lost cause. “It’s tenth grade,” she explained. “I’ve been trying to pass it since then, but the mixture of numbers and letters makes me want to throw it across the room. The problem is that I need to pass it in order to graduate in the spring.” She shrugged, looking back at Chloe. “My dad suggested that I get a tutor. The only problem is that that involves talking to people and usually, I don’t like doing that. I don’t like people.” Her face scrunched up, looking at Chloe. “Why are you so... persistent?”

 

Her phone buzzed on the table and she couldn’t stop the smile on her face when the face of a two year old boy popped up on the screen. She caught Chloe looking at her, and she locked the screen again, noticing that the redhead looked like she wanted to say something, but felt unsure. “I can’t get a read on you. I mean, it sounds stupid, but I can’t, and it’d be nice to get to know you. I can leave you alone if you want.”

 

The redhead made a move to get up, and Beca kicked herself for not wanting her to leave. “That’s what I like about people, Chloe. They cannot get a read on me and I like it that way.” She paused, closing her book and looking at her watch. “Besides, I feel like if I told you to leave me alone, you would still follow me around like a lost puppy dog.” She shoved her things into her bag before standing up. “I don’t know what you have next, but I need to get to my AP Lit class. I’ve missed the past few days because of something and I don’t even know why I am telling you this…” her voice trailed off.

 

Beca watched as Chloe also stood up, smirk on her face. “I would,” she said, throwing Beca a wink, “and the lost puppy look is something you might have to get used to. I have AP Lit, too. Looks like you aren’t getting rid of me that easily.” They stared walking towards the classroom, Beca trying to keep as much distance between the two as they made their way through the crowded halls. “Mind if I ask why you’ve missed the past few days?”

 

“I just had a family thing,” she shrugged, “and the teachers are pretty chill with it, so it works out in my favor.” She stepped into the classroom, heading to her seat in the back. A groan escaped her lips when she realized that the only open seat was the one right next to her. She pulled her notebook out of her back and hoped against hope that Chloe wasn’t a classroom talker.

 

“A family thing,” Chloe murmured, nodding slowly. Beca felt her hand clench around her pencil, hoping she didn’t end up snapping it. “So, AP Literature? I didn’t figure you to be into this kind of thing – Shakespeare and Keats’ lyric poems don’t exactly seem to be the kind of lyrics you would be into.”

Beca kept her eyes focused on her notebook, shaking her head. “The only reason I ended up in the class was my English teacher last year realized I had a love of literature that expanded beyond most high school kids,” she explained. “I’ve always read, and I have always loved learning from words. It sounds stupid, but that’s me. Beca Mitchell, secret geek.” She turned her head slightly, brushing the hair back from her face. “What about you, Chloe? Why AP Lit?” she asked, grinning.

 

“It’s great when teachers actually understand their students, though,” she pointed out, causing Beca to actually smile. “Learning from words is actually a pretty rare thing these days. I’ve taken psychology since eighth grade, and most students in high school learn from auditory learning or aesthetic learning the best.”

 

_Great. Chloe Beale is a major talker._ “That didn’t answer my question.”

 

“I love poetry,” she said. “Classic literature. Keats and Byron and all those guys. And girls, of course, but we all know misogyny was a huge thing back then until Jane Austen came along with Pride and Prejudice.” Chloe leaned back in her chair, starting to fiddle with her pen. “I love how they can manage to somehow convey their emotions so subtly into a piece while still making it relevant to their modern society. It’s just really cool.”

Beca was surprised, seeing as most of the kids in the school, or even the class, didn’t give two shits about literature. The way Chloe spoke about it, though, was almost enchanting. She truly loved the authors and the words, and the last thing Beca needed was to find herself falling for this strange redhead who was somehow worming her way into her life after just an hour. “Would it be too mainstream of me to say that, no matter what I learn, Poe is always going to be my favorite?” she asked, deciding to let Chloe in – just a little bit. “In fifth grade, I memorized The Raven. Had my dad worried for a while, actually.”

 

“That’s totally cool, though.” She readjusted herself, leaning closer to Beca. “And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming, and the lamp-light over him streaming throws his shadow on the floor,” she whispered. Beca wanted to ignore her, but she was leaning close and she was quoting Beca’s favorite line from The Raven. “You have an amazing smile,” she added, the grin on her face growing. “I don’t see why a love for Poe would be anything to be worried about.”

 

Beca swallowed, hard, and took a deep breath. “It’s a long story,” she said, exhaling. She leaned back towards her own desk, running a hand nervously through her hair, “but who knows, puppy dog, I might let you in enough to hear it one day… if you play your cards right.”

 

“Puppy dog,” Chloe repeated, her smiled widening. She reached over, gently nudging Beca’s arm. “Challenge accepted, Beca Mitchell, secret nerd,” she winked, finally turning her attention to the front of the room.

 

Scrambling to gather her thoughts as the teacher entered the room, Beca glanced at Chloe from the corner of her eye. She couldn’t shake the feeling that no matter how hard she tried, Chloe was someone who was never going to leave her alone, and the more she let herself think about it, the less she actually minded the intrusion. _Lock it up, Mitchell._


End file.
